Caster raising and lowering means for stands, &amp;c.



J. F. L. UHL.

CASTEE RAISING AND LOWERING MEANS FOR. STANDS}.&0.'

APPLICATION FILED JULY 17,1911.

Patented Apr. 16,1912.

JOSEPH F. L. UI-IL, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE TOLEDO METALFURNITURE COMPANY, OF TOLEDO, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

CASTER RAISING AND LOWERING MEANS FOR STANDS, 8w.

Application filed July 17, 1911.

To all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, Josnrrr F. L. UHL, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Toledo, in the county of Lucas and State of Ohio, haveinvented a certain new and useful Caster Raising and Lowering Means forStands, &c.; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear,and exact description of the invention, such as will enable othersskilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,reference being had to the accompanying drawing, and to the figures ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

My invention relates to articles of furniture, and particularly toadding machine stands, tables, stools and other articles for.

which it may be adapted. I

The object of my invention is the provision, in combination with anarticle of the character described, of improved and efiicient meanswhich is easily and quickly operable to raise or lower the leg castersof such article relative to the floor to provide a firm support for thearticle when its casters are raised, or to permit it to be freely movedfrom place to place when the casters are lowered, and which is alsosimple, strong and inexpensive in its construction.

The invention is fully described in the following specification, andwhile in its broader aspect it is capable of embodiment in numerousforms a preferred embodiment thereof is illustrated in the accompanyingdrawing, which is a perspective View of an adding machine standembodying my invention with the casters thereof raised from contact withthe floor.

Referring to the drawing, 1 designates the legs of a stand, stool or thelike, which are shown in the present instance as being four in numberand as cooperating with the top connecting frame or rim 2 .and with thesubjacent leg bracing frames 3 to form an adding machine stand havingcups or sockets 4 at the corners of the top frame 2 in which the feet ofa machine may rest. Casters 5 of any suitable form are carried by thelegs 1 at their lower ends in a manner to cause them to be raised fromthe floor when the legs are raised for such purpose.

An angled lever 6 is fulcrumed in the present instance to each of thelegs 1 adjacent Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 16, 1912.

Serial No. 638,882.

to its lower end, as at 7, and has one arm thereof angling outward anddownward from its fulcrum, and its other arm contlnuing inward to apoint substantially central,

of the legs where it is pivotally connected with the inner ends of theother levers to the lower end of a bar 8. This bar extends upward fromits point of connection to the levers 6 through the frame parts 3 andhas its upper end attached to a crank-shaft 9, the ends of which arejournaled in bearing lugs 10 projecting from one of said frames, asshown. One end of the crank-shaft 9 is bent without its bearing lug toform a crankhandle 11, which coacts with the associated frame part 3 tolimit the oscillatory movements thereof. The crank and handle of theshaft 9 are preferably disposed at substantially right angles to eachother so that when the crank is at the limit of its upward or downwardmovements the handle 11 will coact with the associated frame part 3 tohold the shaft against turning in one direction from such positions. Thepivot pin 12, which connects the lower end of the bar 8 to the innerends of the levers 6 works through registering longitudinally extendingslots 13 in theinner ends of the levers. The inner ends of the levers 6are shown as being bent in parallelism to adapt them to lap each otherin pairs at opposite sides of the bar 8.

It is apparent with this construction that upon a turning of thecrank-shaft 9 to the position shown the bar 8 is raised and the levers 6are oscillated in unison to effecta =lowering'of their outer ends toengage the floor or other supporting object and raise the legs 1 andcasters 5 to withdraw the casters from contact with the fioor, the throwand length of the angled outer ends of the levers 6 being suflicient forsuch pur pose, thus providing a firm sub-base or sup port for the stand.Upon a throwing of the crank-handle 11 in the opposite direction, thebar 8 is lowered and the attached levers 6 oscillated a suitabledistance to lower the casters 5 into contact with the fioor and to raisethe feet of the sub-base levers from contact therewith thus enabling thestand to be freely moved upon its casters to any desired position.

'While the levers 6 may be of any suitable construction they are shownin the present instance as having their feet or outer end portions 6drawn in channel form from sheet-metal with the upper ends of the websor channel walls thereof extended inwardly therefrom, as at 6 to form afork which straddles the lower end portions of the legs 1 with the freeends thereof riveted to an interposed bar 6, which forms the inner endportion of the lever.

It is apparent that I have provided a simple and efficient sub-base forstands or the like which is capable of being easily and quickly operatedto raise the stand casters from or lower them into contact with thefloor as it may be desired to firmly anchor the stand in adjustedposition or to move the same upon its casters from place to place.

I wish it understood that my invention is not limited to any specificconstruction or arrangement of the parts except in so far as suchlimitations are specified in the claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is,

1. In an article of the class described, the combination of mainsupporting legs, a frame connecting and rigidly bracing said legs andhaving an opening therein, casters for such legs, an angled leverpivoted to each leg adjacent to its lower end and being operable toraise or lower the main legs,

' the inner ends of said levers being bent to stand side by side insubstantial parallelism, a bar rising through the opening in said framewith its lower end attached to the inner ends of said levers, and acrank shaft journaled in said frame with its crank attached to the upperend of said bar and op erable to raise or lower the bar.

2. The combination with the legs of a stand, of leg raising and loweringlevers pivoted to the legs, said levers each having its foot or outerend portion angling downward from the associated leg and of channel formwith the upper end portion of its channel webs prolonged and projectinginward to form a fork which straddles the leg and is pivoted thereto,and having a bar fixed at one end of said fork and projecting inwardtherefrom with its free end in adjacent position to the free ends of theother levers, and means attached to the free ends of said lever bars andoperable to oscillate said levers to effect a raising or lowering of thestand legs.

3; The combination with the legs of a stand, of leg raising and loweringlevers pivoted to the legs with portions extending outward and" downwardfrom the legs to form feet, said feet portions each being of channelform in cross-section with its end terminating adjacent to the leg towhich it attaches and having the upper ends of its side walls extendedlaterally to form a fork for straddling the leg, and 'means connectedtot-he inner ends of said levers and operable to oscillate them toeffect a raising or lowering of the stand legs.

In testimony whereof, I have hereunto signed my name to thisspecification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

JOSEPH F. L. UHL.

Witnesses:

C. W. OWEN, M. Q. OPPENHEIM.

Copies 01' this patent may be obtained for five cents each, byaddressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0:

